SternWake
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While I have a battery monitor with a large 500 amp shunt that counts all amps into and out of my batteries, it does not do just one item, unless I were to disconnect or power down every other item I did not want to as well.
I bought the following product so I can monitor accurately the amount of current any particular DC device draws over a period of time.
There are limitations, as this device counts current in only one direction, and only 65 amp hours worth.
If one were to wire this device in line with the house battery fuse panel, one could get a fairly accurate reading of how much they are taking from a battery, and make better decisions as to when to recharge or when to stop depleting the battery completely, or just assuage their curiosity as to how much any particular device draws.
I put anderson powerpole connectors on the meter and can flip it around to measure what my charger returns into my batteries, or backover and see how much a particular device draws.
Right now i am measuring how much Amp hours are needed to take 2 Li-ion 18650 batteries from 3.7v to 4.2V
The meter displays:
battery voltage
Minimum battery voltage
Amps
Maximum amps drawn( start up surge)
Watts
maximum watts drawn (start up surge)
Amp hours to 0.001 a/H
Watt hours to 0.001 wH
All these numbers start when the meter is first hooked to a power source, and are lost when disconnected.
This particular meter does not say how long it has been connected
http://www.amazon.com/High-Precision-Power-Meter-Analyzer/dp/B00C596UIA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
The Turnigy version of this meter does tell you how long it has been connected.
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10080
The Watts up version of this meter is about twice the price but according to this guy is the most accurate:
As far as the Anderson powerpole connectors, they are pretty good and versatile. I put some inline on a Ciggy plug receptacle, and on my battery charger, and I can pretty much measure just about anything.
I used the 30 amp powerpoles. they come in all different sizes and amperages, and require some crimping skills and tools to use.
http://www.amazon.com/Anderson-Powe...=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=anderson+powerpole+75+amp
12 awg wire barely fits inside these connectors, so i am limiting myself to 30 amp currents with this meter.
While it says it can handle 130 amps, I would not trust it for this much current. The manual says anything over 65 amps should be limited duration to prevent heating.
This meter might be able to count alternator amps back into the house battery, but Starter current should not be passed through it. There are a bunch of limiting factors on the operation of this device, so just beware of trying to run too much current through it.
But for smaller currents that will not exceed 65 amp hours in the allotted timespan, it is a great tool.
It measures spot on with my voltmeters and is fairly close to my DC clamp on Ammeter and similar as well to my shunted meter.
Okay I gave up measuring the 18650 batteries as my laptop battery was down to 10%.
Right now after being hooked for about 10 minutes it is drawing:
5-6 amps bouncing back and forth.
The max inrush current it has pulled is 7.42 amps/89.1 watts.
My battery is around 12.0 volts at the time of this test(18 a/H FROM FULL UNDER A 10 AMP TOTAL LOAD, ACCORDING TO MY LARGE BATTERY MONITOR) and the lowest during this test is 11.96. caps not intentional^^
The laptop has already consumed 1.237 A/h/16.2 watt hours from the battery.
Pretty neat product if you are interested in this stuff.
okay I got to use up the rest of my anderson Connectors as i am phasing out all the SAE 12v connectors which have proven to be disappointing in terms of mife and voltage drop and resistance heating.
Feel free to ask me questions about this product or implementation and I will do my best to answer them.
I bought the following product so I can monitor accurately the amount of current any particular DC device draws over a period of time.
There are limitations, as this device counts current in only one direction, and only 65 amp hours worth.
If one were to wire this device in line with the house battery fuse panel, one could get a fairly accurate reading of how much they are taking from a battery, and make better decisions as to when to recharge or when to stop depleting the battery completely, or just assuage their curiosity as to how much any particular device draws.
I put anderson powerpole connectors on the meter and can flip it around to measure what my charger returns into my batteries, or backover and see how much a particular device draws.
Right now i am measuring how much Amp hours are needed to take 2 Li-ion 18650 batteries from 3.7v to 4.2V
The meter displays:
battery voltage
Minimum battery voltage
Amps
Maximum amps drawn( start up surge)
Watts
maximum watts drawn (start up surge)
Amp hours to 0.001 a/H
Watt hours to 0.001 wH
All these numbers start when the meter is first hooked to a power source, and are lost when disconnected.
This particular meter does not say how long it has been connected
http://www.amazon.com/High-Precision-Power-Meter-Analyzer/dp/B00C596UIA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
The Turnigy version of this meter does tell you how long it has been connected.
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10080
The Watts up version of this meter is about twice the price but according to this guy is the most accurate:
As far as the Anderson powerpole connectors, they are pretty good and versatile. I put some inline on a Ciggy plug receptacle, and on my battery charger, and I can pretty much measure just about anything.
I used the 30 amp powerpoles. they come in all different sizes and amperages, and require some crimping skills and tools to use.
http://www.amazon.com/Anderson-Powe...=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=anderson+powerpole+75+amp
12 awg wire barely fits inside these connectors, so i am limiting myself to 30 amp currents with this meter.
While it says it can handle 130 amps, I would not trust it for this much current. The manual says anything over 65 amps should be limited duration to prevent heating.
This meter might be able to count alternator amps back into the house battery, but Starter current should not be passed through it. There are a bunch of limiting factors on the operation of this device, so just beware of trying to run too much current through it.
But for smaller currents that will not exceed 65 amp hours in the allotted timespan, it is a great tool.
It measures spot on with my voltmeters and is fairly close to my DC clamp on Ammeter and similar as well to my shunted meter.
Okay I gave up measuring the 18650 batteries as my laptop battery was down to 10%.
Right now after being hooked for about 10 minutes it is drawing:
5-6 amps bouncing back and forth.
The max inrush current it has pulled is 7.42 amps/89.1 watts.
My battery is around 12.0 volts at the time of this test(18 a/H FROM FULL UNDER A 10 AMP TOTAL LOAD, ACCORDING TO MY LARGE BATTERY MONITOR) and the lowest during this test is 11.96. caps not intentional^^
The laptop has already consumed 1.237 A/h/16.2 watt hours from the battery.
Pretty neat product if you are interested in this stuff.
okay I got to use up the rest of my anderson Connectors as i am phasing out all the SAE 12v connectors which have proven to be disappointing in terms of mife and voltage drop and resistance heating.
Feel free to ask me questions about this product or implementation and I will do my best to answer them.